Vehicle display control device, vehicle display control method, computer-readable storage medium, and vehicle display system for displaying action schedule item

ABSTRACT

The action schedule item creation ECU creates action schedule items demanded of an ego vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and manual driving. The HUD and the meter display are provided inside a cabin of the ego vehicle. The display control ECU displays the action schedule items created by the action schedule item creation ECU on the HUD and the meter display, and emphasizes display of action schedule items to be performed by manual driving compared to display of action schedule items to be performed by autonomous driving.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2020-146334 filed on Aug. 31, 2020, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle display control device, avehicle display control method, a computer-readable storage medium, anda vehicle display system.

Related Art

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2018-100867 (PatentDocument 1) discloses technology for displaying an autonomous drivingsegment and a manual driving segment in an identifiable manner, and alsodisplaying information indicating vehicle behavior in the autonomousdriving segment when displaying a route leading a vehicle to adestination on a display.

In vehicles capable of switching between autonomous driving and manualdriving, an occupant must reliably be made aware of a timing at whichoperation by the occupant is required in order to achieve a smoothswitch between autonomous driving and manual driving. In the technologyof Patent Document 1, display of autonomous driving segments isemphasized relative to display of manual driving segments, and so thereis room for improvement with respect to making the occupant aware of atiming at which operation by the occupant is required.

SUMMARY

In consideration of the above circumstances, an object of the presentdisclosure is to obtain a vehicle display control device, a vehicledisplay control method, a computer-readable storage medium, and avehicle display system capable of easily making an occupant aware of atiming at which operation by the occupant is required.

A vehicle display control device according to a first aspect includes adisplay control section configured to display an action schedule itemcreated by a creation section configured to create an action scheduleitem demanded of a vehicle capable of switching between autonomousdriving and manual driving on a display section provided inside a cabinof the vehicle, and to emphasize display of the action schedule item tobe performed by manual driving compared to display of the actionschedule item to be performed by autonomous driving.

In the first aspect, the action schedule item demanded of the vehiclethat is capable of switching between autonomous driving and manualdriving is created by the creation section. The display control sectiondisplays the action schedule item created by the creation section on thedisplay section provided inside the cabin of the vehicle, and emphasizesdisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by manual drivingcompared to display of the action schedule item to be performed byautonomous driving. Emphasizing display of the action schedule item tobe performed by manual driving in this manner enables an occupant to beeasily made aware of a timing at which operation by the occupant isrequired.

A second aspect is the first aspect, wherein the display control sectionis further configured to display the action schedule item on the displaysection using information including a text string, and to emphasizedisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by manual drivingrelative to display of the action schedule item to be performed byautonomous driving by inverting a color of the text string and a colorof a background portion of the text string.

The second aspect enables the occupant to be clearly made aware of thedistinction between autonomous driving and manual driving using alimited color palette. Moreover, even in cases in which screen contrastis difficult to secure for optical reasons (such as in cases in whichthe display section is an HUD), the occupant can be easily made aware ofa timing at which operation by the occupant is required.

A third aspect is the second aspect, wherein the display control sectionis further configured to emphasize display of the action schedule itemto be performed by manual driving relative to display of the actionschedule item to be performed by autonomous driving by setting a colorof a background portion of the text string that is a portion inside aframe surrounding the text string differently from a color of the textstring and differently from a color of a background of at least a regionof a display region of the display section in which the text string isdisplayed.

The third aspect enables display of action schedule items to beperformed by manual driving to be emphasized using a limited colorpalette.

A fourth aspect is the first aspect, wherein the display sectionincludes a meter display and a head-up display. The display controlsection is further configured to display the action schedule item on thedisplay section using information including a text string, and in thecase of the meter display, emphasize display of the action schedule itemto be performed by manual driving relative to display of the actionschedule item to be performed by autonomous driving by changing a colorof at least one out the text string or a background portion of the textstring, and in the case of the head-up display, emphasize display of theaction schedule item to be performed by manual driving relative todisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by autonomousdriving by inverting a color of the text string and a color of abackground portion of the text string.

The fourth aspect enables display to be emphasized in a mannercorresponding to the respective characteristics of the meter display forwhich colors can be changed relatively simply, and of the HUD that has alimited color palette.

A fifth aspect is any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect,wherein the display control section is further configured to display onthe display section a display indicating an end to manual driving incases in which a site of an action schedule item performed manually byan occupant has been passed or a duration of an action schedule itemperformed manually by the occupant has been exceeded.

In the fifth aspect, the end to manual driving is clearly conveyed,enabling the occupant to cease their operation with confidence.

A sixth aspect is any one of the first aspect to the fifth aspect,wherein the creation section is configured to create an action planincluding plural of the action schedule items. The display sectionincludes a first display section and a second display section. Out ofthe action plan, the display control section is further configured todisplay on the first display section an action schedule item for which adistance to a site where the action is to be performed or a time untilthe action is to be performed is not greater than a first specifiedvalue, and to display on the second display section an action scheduleitem for which a distance to a site where the action is to be performedor a time until the action is to be performed is not greater than asecond specified value that is smaller than the first specified value.

In the sixth aspect, dividing display of the most imminent actionschedule item and the subsequent action schedule item between the twodisplay sections enables the occupant to be easily made aware of theaction schedule items.

A seventh aspect is the sixth aspect, wherein the first display sectionis a meter display, and the second display section is a head-up display.

The seventh aspect enables the amount by which the occupant has to shifttheir gaze in order to view the first display section or the seconddisplay section to be minimized.

An eighth aspect is any one of the first aspect to the seventh aspect,wherein the creation section is configured to create an action planincluding plural of the action schedule items. In cases in which thereare plural of the action schedule items to display on the displaysection, the display control section is configured to perform enlargeddisplay of an action schedule item having the shortest distance to asite where the action is to be performed or the shortest time until theaction relative to other action schedule items.

The eighth aspect enables the occupant to be easily made aware of theclosest action schedule item, this being the highest priority,regardless of whether this action schedule item relates to autonomousdriving or manual driving.

In a vehicle display control method according to a ninth aspect, acomputer executes processing. The processing includes displaying anaction schedule item created by a creation section configured to createan action schedule item demanded of a vehicle capable of switchingbetween autonomous driving and manual driving on a display sectionprovided inside a cabin of the vehicle, and emphasizing display of theaction schedule item to be performed by manual driving compared todisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by autonomousdriving.

The ninth aspect enables the occupant to be easily made aware of atiming at which operation by the occupant is required.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to a tenthaspect is stored with a vehicle display control program that causes acomputer to execute processing. The processing includes displaying anaction schedule item created by a creation section configured to createan action schedule item demanded of a vehicle capable of switchingbetween autonomous driving and manual driving on a display sectionprovided inside a cabin of the vehicle, and emphasizing display of theaction schedule item to be performed by manual driving compared todisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by autonomousdriving.

The tenth aspect enables the occupant to be easily made aware of atiming at which operation by the occupant is required.

A vehicle display system according to an eleventh aspect includes: acreation section configured to create an action schedule item demandedof a vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and manualdriving; a display section provided inside a cabin of the vehicle; and adisplay control section configured to display the action schedule itemcreated by the creation section on the display section, and to emphasizedisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by manual drivingcompared to display of the action schedule item to be performed byautonomous driving.

The eleventh aspect enables the occupant to be easily made aware of atiming at which operation by the occupant is required.

The present disclosure exhibits an advantageous effect of enabling anoccupant to be easily made aware of a timing at which operation by theoccupant is required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of anonboard system according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an image illustrating an example of display on an HUD and aMET;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of HUD display controlprocessing;

FIG. 4 is an image illustrating an example of display on an HUD;

FIG. 5 is an image illustrating an example of display on an HUD;

FIG. 6 is an image illustrating an example of display on an HUD;

FIG. 7 is an image illustrating an example of display in which a colorof a second text string has been inverted;

FIG. 8 is an image illustrating an example of display on an HUD;

FIG. 9 is an image illustrating an example of display on an HUD;

FIG. 10 is an image illustrating an example of display on an HUD;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of MET display controlprocessing;

FIG. 12 is an image illustrating an example of display in which a colorof a second text string has been changed; and

FIG. 13 is an image illustrating an example of display indicating theend of manual driving.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed explanation follows regarding an example of an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure, with reference to the drawings. Asillustrated in FIG. 1 , an onboard system 10 includes a communicationbus 12. A surrounding situation acquisition device group 14, a vehicletravel state detection sensor group 26, an autonomous driving electroniccontrol unit (ECU) 34, an action schedule item creation ECU 60, and adisplay control ECU 42 are respectively connected to the communicationbus 12. Note that the onboard system 10 is only partially illustrated inFIG. 1 . A vehicle installed with the onboard system 10 is hereafterreferred to as the ego vehicle. As will be described later, the egovehicle is capable of switching between autonomous driving and manualdriving.

The surrounding situation acquisition device group 14 includes devicesfor acquiring information indicating the situation in the peripheralenvironment of the ego vehicle, including a global positioning system(GPS) device 16, an onboard communication unit 18, a radar system 22,cameras 24, and the like.

The GPS device 16 receives GPS signals from plural GPS satellites inorder to find the position of the ego vehicle. The greater the number ofGPS signals the GPS device 16 can receive, the better the positioningaccuracy. The onboard communication unit 18 is a communication devicethat performs at least one out of vehicle-to-vehicle communication withother vehicles, or road-to-vehicle communication with roadsideequipment.

The radar system 22 is configured of plural radar devices, each with adifferent detection range. The radar system 22 detects objects such aspedestrians and other vehicles present in the periphery of the egovehicle as point cloud data, and acquires relative positions andrelative speeds of the detected objects with respect to the ego vehicle.The radar system 22 includes an inbuilt processing device that processessearch results regarding peripheral objects. The processing deviceemploys changes in the relative position and relative speed of eachobject included in plural most recent search results in order to excludenoise and roadside objects such as guardrails from monitoring targets,and to track specific objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles asmonitoring targets. The radar system 22 then outputs information such asthe relative position and relative speed of each of the monitoringtarget objects. The cameras 24 are configured of plural cameras thatimage the periphery of the ego vehicle and output the captured images.

The vehicle travel state detection sensor group 26 is configured ofplural sensors for acquiring a travel state of the vehicle, including asteering angle sensor 28 that detects the steering angle of the egovehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 30 that detects the travel speed of theego vehicle, and an acceleration sensor 32 that detects an accelerationrate of the ego vehicle.

A throttle actuator (ACT) 36 that changes the throttle position of theego vehicle, and a brake ACT 38 that changes braking force generated bya braking device of the ego vehicle are connected to the autonomousdriving ECU 34. A steering ACT 40 that changes a steering amount of asteering device of the ego vehicle is also connected to the autonomousdriving ECU 34.

The autonomous driving ECU 34 includes a central processing unit (CPU),memory such as read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), anon-volatile storage section such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solidstate drive (SSD), and a communication interface (I/F). Autonomousdriving software is stored in the storage section. When an autonomousdriving mode has been selected, the CPU executes the autonomous drivingsoftware such that the autonomous driving ECU 34 performs autonomousdriving processing to cause the ego vehicle to travel autonomouslywithout requiring an occupant of the ego vehicle to perform a drivingoperation. The autonomous driving processing is processing to determinethe situation of the ego vehicle and its surroundings based oninformation obtained from the surrounding situation acquisition devicegroup 14 and the vehicle travel state detection sensor group 26, and tocontrol the throttle ACT 36, the brake ACT 38, and the steering ACT 40accordingly.

As described above, during autonomous driving in the present exemplaryembodiment, the ego vehicle travels autonomously without requiring theoccupant of the ego vehicle to perform a driving operation. In thepresent exemplary embodiment, manual driving includes cases in which theautonomous driving ECU 34 performs some driving operations while theremaining driving operations are executed by the occupant of the egovehicle. As an example, in a manual driving mode, the autonomous drivingECU 34 may adjust the speed, while the occupant of the ego vehicle onlyperforms a steering operation.

The action schedule item creation ECU 60 includes a CPU, memory such asROM and RAM, a non-volatile storage section such as a HDD or SSD, and acommunication I/F. The storage section is stored with map information.The action schedule item creation ECU 60 creates action schedule itemsdemanded of the vehicle. Namely, when a destination of the ego vehiclehas been set, the action schedule item creation ECU 60 compares acurrent position of the ego vehicle as obtained from the GPS device 16and a destination position of the ego vehicle against the mapinformation in order to find a route to the destination.

The action schedule item creation ECU 60 also divides the found route(an action plan of the ego vehicle) into action schedule items such asleft and right turns, lane changes, merges, and so on, and decideswhether the scheduled action in each of the action schedule items thusdivided is to be performed by autonomous driving or manual driving. Inthe present exemplary embodiment, scheduled actions are basicallyperformed by autonomous driving by the autonomous driving ECU 34, butfor actions that are challenging for autonomous driving, such as a“merge” action scheduled at a location where there is only a shortmerging lane, a decision is made that this will be performed by manualdriving.

Individual action schedule items included in the action plan includeinformation indicating the scheduled action, such as a left or rightturn or a lane change, information indicating whether this action is tobe performed by autonomous driving or manual driving, and informationindicating the scheduled location of this action (for example inlatitude and longitude notation). The action plan created by the actionschedule item creation ECU 60 is transmitted to the autonomous drivingECU 34 and the display control ECU 42. The action schedule item creationECU 60 functions as an example of a creation section.

The display control ECU 42 includes a CPU 44, memory 46 such as ROM andRAM, a non-volatile storage section 48 such as a HDD or SSD, and acommunication I/F 50. The CPU 44, the memory 46, the storage section 48,and the communication I/F 50 are connected together so as to be capableof communicating with each other through an internal bus 52. A displaycontrol program 54 is stored in the storage section 48. The displaycontrol ECU 42 reads the display control program 54 from the storagesection 48 and expands the program in the memory 46, and the displaycontrol program 54 expanded in the memory 46 is executed by the CPU 44in order to perform HUD display control processing and MET displaycontrol processing, described later. Note that the display controlprogram 54 is an example of a vehicle display control program.

A head-up display (hereafter referred to as HUD) 56 and a meter display(hereafter referred to as MET) 58, both of which are provided in thecabin of the ego vehicle, are connected to the display control ECU 42.The HUD 56 according to the present exemplary embodiment is a small HUD,and is for example reflected on a windshield within a display rangecovering part of a forward field of view (an image toward the bottom ofa scene ahead) of the occupant of the ego vehicle. The MET 58 is adisplay provided to an instrument panel of the ego vehicle. The displaycontrol ECU 42 controls the display of information on the HUD 56 and theMET 58.

Namely, the display control ECU 42 displays the action schedule itemscreated by the action schedule item creation ECU 60 on the HUD 56 andthe MET 58, and emphasizes display of action schedule items to beperformed by manual driving compared to display of action schedule itemsto be performed by autonomous driving. Note that the display control ECU42 is an example of a display control section and a vehicle displaycontrol device, and the HUD 56 and the MET 58 are examples of displaysections. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of display on the HUD 56 and theMET 58. The HUD 56, the MET 58, the action schedule item creation ECU60, and the display control ECU 42 configure an example of a vehicledisplay system.

Next, explanation follows regarding operation of the present exemplaryembodiment. The display control ECU 42 performs the HUD display controlprocessing illustrated in FIG. 3 while an ignition switch of the egovehicle is on.

At step 100 of the HUD display control processing, the display controlECU 42 determines whether or not a destination of the ego vehicle hasbeen set by the action schedule item creation ECU 60. In cases in whicha destination of the ego vehicle has been set, the action schedule itemcreation ECU 60 creates an action plan of the ego vehicle includingplural action schedule items, and transmits the action plan to thedisplay control ECU 42 and the like. The display control ECU 42accordingly makes the determination of step 100 based on whether or notan action plan of the ego vehicle including plural action schedule itemshas been received from the action schedule item creation ECU 60.

In cases in which determination is affirmative at step 100, processingtransitions to step 102. At step 102, the display control ECU 42references the action plan received from the action schedule itemcreation ECU 60, and determines whether or not the action plan includesany action schedule item for which the scheduled location of the actioncorresponds to a position within a distance L1 from the current positionof the ego vehicle. The distance L1 is, for example, 10 km. The distanceL1 is an example of a second specified value.

In cases in which determination is negative at step 100 or step 102,processing transitions to step 134. At step 134, as illustrated in theexample of FIG. 4 , the display control ECU 42 does not display anyaction schedule items on the HUD 56. Following the processing of step134, processing returns to step 100.

In cases in which determination is affirmative at step 102, processingtransitions to step 104. At step 104, the display control ECU 42determines the number of action schedule items included in the actionplan for which the scheduled location of the action corresponds to aposition within the distance L1 from the current position of the egovehicle, and processing splits according to this determination result.

In cases in which the number of the action schedule items included inthe action plan for which the scheduled location of the actioncorresponds to a position within the distance L1 from the currentposition of the ego vehicle is “1”, processing transitions from step 104to step 106. At step 106, the display control ECU 42 determines whetheror not the single and closest action schedule item for which thescheduled location of the action corresponds to a position within thedistance L1 from the current position of the ego vehicle is at adistance L2 or greater from the current position of the ego vehicle. Thedistance L2 is, for example, 1 km.

In cases in which determination is affirmative at step 106, processingtransitions to step 108. At step 108, the display control ECU 42determines whether or not the closest action schedule item is an actionschedule item to be performed by autonomous driving. In cases in whichdetermination is affirmative at step 108, processing transitions to step110. At step 110, the display control ECU 42 displays a closest actionschedule item 70 in an action schedule item display region of the HUD 56(a region at the right edge of the display region of the HUD 56) asillustrated in the example of FIG. 5 , and processing returns to step100.

The action schedule item 70 includes a first text string indicating thedistance from the current position of the ego vehicle to the scheduledlocation of the action (“3.2 km” in the example of FIG. 5 ), and an iconindicating the scheduled action (a lane change in the example of FIG. 5). The closest action schedule item 70 further includes a second textstring indicating whether the scheduled action is to be performed byautonomous driving or by manual driving (“ASSIST” to indicate autonomousdriving in the example of FIG. 5 ). In the present exemplary embodiment,in cases in which “ASSIST” is displayed as the second text string toindicate autonomous driving, the second text string is displayed in acolor with high brightness (for example white) and a background portionof the second text string (a portion inside a frame surrounding thesecond text string) is displayed in a color with low brightness (forexample black).

In cases in which determination is negative at step 108, processingtransitions to step 112. At step 112, the display control ECU 42performs inverted display of a closest action schedule item 72 in theaction schedule item display region of the HUD 56 as illustrated in theexamples of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , and processing returns to step 100.Specifically, in cases in which the scheduled action is to be performedby manual driving, the second text string reads “MANUAL”, and in thepresent exemplary embodiment, when “MANUAL” is displayed as the secondtext string to indicate manual driving, the second text string isdisplayed in a color with low brightness (for example black) and thebackground portion of the second text string is displayed in a colorwith high brightness (for example white).

In the present exemplary embodiment, the background of the overalldisplay region of the HUD 56 is configured in a color with lowbrightness (for example black). In cases in which an action scheduleitem to be performed by autonomous driving is displayed, the color ofthe background portion (the portion inside the frame surrounding thesecond text string) of the second text string (“ASSIST” to indicateautonomous driving) is substantially the same as the background color ofthe overall display region of the HUD 56, and so the second text stringdoes not appear especially prominent. By contrast, in cases in which anaction schedule item to be performed by manual driving is displayed, thecolor of the background portion of the second text string (“MANUAL” toindicate manual driving) is different from the color of the second textstring and from the background color of the overall display region ofthe HUD 56, thereby emphasizing display of the second text string. Theoccupant can thus easily be made aware of a timing at which operation bythe occupant is required for the action schedule item 72 that is to beperformed by manual driving. Note that setting different colors may, forexample, be implemented by selecting a color for the background portionof the second text string that is a color separated from both the colorof the second text string and the background color of the overalldisplay region of the HUD 56 by at least a given specified distance in aparticular color space.

In cases in which the single and closest action schedule item for whichthe scheduled location of the action is positioned within the distanceL1 from the current position of the ego vehicle is less than thedistance L2 from the current position of the ego vehicle, determinationis negative at step 106 and processing transitions to step 114. At step114, the display control ECU 42 determines whether or not the closestaction schedule item is an action schedule item to be performed byautonomous driving. In cases in which determination is affirmative atstep 114, processing transitions to step 116.

At step 116, the display control ECU 42 performs enlarged display of aclosest action schedule item 74 (second text string: “ASSIST”) in theaction schedule item display region of the HUD 56 as illustrated in theexample of FIG. 8 , and then processing returns to step 100. Thisenables the occupant to be made aware by the enlarged display of theaction schedule item 74 that the scheduled location of the action isless than the distance L2 from the current position of the ego vehicleand is therefore imminent.

In cases in which determination is negative at step 114, processingtransitions to step 118. At step 118, the display control ECU 42performs enlarged and inverted display of a closest action schedule item76 (second text string: “MANUAL”) on the action schedule item displayregion of the HUD 56 as illustrated in the example of FIG. 9 , and thenprocessing returns to step 100. This enables the occupant to be madeaware by the enlarged display of the action schedule item 76 that thescheduled location of the action is less than the distance L2 from thecurrent position of the ego vehicle and is therefore imminent. Moreover,the inverted display of the second text string (“MANUAL”) of the actionschedule item 76 enables the occupant to be easily made aware of atiming at which operation by the occupant is required for the actionschedule item 76 that is to be performed by manual driving.

In cases in which the number of the action schedule items for which thescheduled location of the action corresponds to a position within thedistance L1 from the current position of the ego vehicle is more than“1” at step 104, processing transitions from step 104 to step 120. Atstep 120, the display control ECU 42 determines whether or not theclosest action schedule item, out of the plural action schedule itemsfor which the scheduled location of the action corresponds to a positionwithin the distance L1 from the current position of the ego vehicle, isthe distance L2 from the current position of the ego vehicle or greater.

In cases in which determination is affirmative at step 120, processingtransitions to step 122. At step 122, the display control ECU 42determines whether or not the plural action schedule items for which thescheduled location of the action corresponds to a position within thedistance L1 from the current position of the ego vehicle are all actionschedule items to be performed by autonomous driving. In cases in whichdetermination is affirmative at step 122, processing transitions to step124.

At step 124, the display control ECU 42 displays n action schedule itemsin the action schedule item display region of the HUD 56, and processingreturns to step 100. Note that n corresponds to the maximum number ofaction schedule items capable of being displayed in the action scheduleitem display region of the HUD 56. For example, the maximum displaynumber n may be 2. Note that in cases in which the number of actionschedule items for which the scheduled location of the actioncorresponds to a position within the distance L1 from the currentposition of the ego vehicle is greater than n, the closest n actionschedule items are selected for display on the HUD 56.

In cases in which determination is negative at step 122, processingtransitions to step 126. At step 126, the display control ECU 42displays n action schedule items in the action schedule item displayregion of the HUD 56, and performs inverted display of any actionschedule items included among the n action schedule items that are to beperformed by manual driving. Processing then returns to step 100. Thisenables the occupant to be easily made aware of a timing at whichoperation by the occupant is required for any action schedule itemsincluded among the n action schedule items that are to be performed bymanual driving.

In cases in which determination is negative at step 120, processingtransitions to step 128. At step 128, the display control ECU 42determines whether or not the plural action schedule items for which thescheduled location of the action corresponds to a position within thedistance L1 from the current position of the ego vehicle are all actionschedule items to be performed by autonomous driving. In cases in whichdetermination is affirmative at step 128, processing transitions to step130.

At step 130, the display control ECU 42 displays n action schedule itemsin the action schedule item display region of the HUD 56, and performsenlarged display of the closest action schedule item, and thenprocessing returns to step 100. This enables the occupant to be madeaware by the enlarged display of the closest action schedule item thatthe scheduled location of this action is less than the distance L2 fromthe current position of the ego vehicle and is therefore imminent.

In cases in which determination is negative at step 128, processingtransitions to step 132. At step 132, the display control ECU 42displays n action schedule items 78 in the action schedule item displayregion of the HUD 56 as illustrated in the example of FIG. 10 ,performing enlarged display of the closest action schedule item andinverted display of any action schedule items to be performed by manualdriving included among the n action schedule items 78. This enables theoccupant to be easily made aware of a timing at which operation by theoccupant is required for any action schedule item to be performed bymanual driving from among the n action schedule items 78. Moreover, thisalso enables the occupant to be made aware by the enlarged display ofthe closest action schedule item that the scheduled location of theaction is less than the distance L2 from the current position of the egovehicle and is therefore imminent.

The display control ECU 42 also performs the MET display controlprocessing illustrated in FIG. 11 while the ignition switch of the egovehicle is on. The MET display control processing is similar to the HUDdisplay control processing described above (see FIG. 3 ) with theexception of the points that action schedule items are displayed on theMET 58, a maximum display number m is applied instead of the maximumdisplay number n, and a distance L3 is applied instead of the distanceL1. Accordingly, equivalent steps are appended with the same referencenumerals, and explanation thereof is omitted. Note that the maximumdisplay number m is greater than the maximum display number n, and isfor example set to three. Moreover, the distance L3 is equal to orgreater than the distance L1, and is for example set to 20 km or 10 km.The distance L3 is an example of a first specified value.

The example of FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which a maximum displaynumber m of action schedule items (i.e. three) are displayed on the MET58 as action schedule items 80. Display is inverted for any actionschedule item to be performed by manual driving included among the maction schedule items of the action schedule items 80 (see the secondaction schedule item in FIG. 2 ). Namely, for action schedule items tobe performed by manual driving, the color of the background portion ofthe second text string (“MANUAL”, indicating manual driving) differsfrom the color of the second text string and from the background colorof the overall display region of the MET 58, thereby emphasizing displayof the second text string. This enables the occupant to be easily madeaware of a timing at which operation by the occupant is required for anyaction schedule item to be performed by manual driving from among the maction schedule items.

As described above, in the present exemplary embodiment, the actionschedule item creation ECU 60 creates action schedule items demanded ofthe ego vehicle that is capable of switching between autonomous drivingand manual driving. The HUD 56 and the MET 58 are provided inside thecabin of the ego vehicle. The display control ECU 42 displays the actionschedule items created by the action schedule item creation ECU 60 onthe HUD 56 and the MET 58, and emphasizes display of action scheduleitems to be performed by manual driving compared to display of actionschedule items to be performed by autonomous driving. This enables theoccupant to be easily made aware of a timing at which operation by theoccupant is required.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the display control ECU 42 displaysaction schedule items on the HUD 56 and the MET 58 using informationincluding text strings. The display control ECU 42 also emphasizesdisplay of an action schedule item to be performed by manual drivingrelative to display of an action schedule item to be performed byautonomous driving by inverting the color of the text string and thecolor of the background portion of the text string. This enables theoccupant to be clearly made aware of the distinction between autonomousdriving and manual driving operations using a limited color palette.Moreover, even in the case of the HUD 56, for which screen contrast isdifficult to secure for optical reasons, the occupant can be easily madeaware of a timing at which operation by the occupant is required.

Moreover, in the present exemplary embodiment, the display control ECU42 emphasizes display of an action schedule item to be performed bymanual driving relative to display of an action schedule item that is tobe performed by autonomous driving by setting the color of thebackground portion of the text string, this being is a portion inside aframe surrounding the text string, differently from the color of thetext string and differently from the color of the background of at leasta region of the display region of the HUD 56 or MET 58 in which the textstring is displayed. This enables display of action schedule items to beperformed by manual driving to be emphasized using a limited colorpalette.

Moreover, in the present exemplary embodiment, the action schedule itemcreation ECU 60 creates an action plan including plural action scheduleitems, and the display sections include the MET 58, serving as a firstdisplay section, and the HUD 56, serving as a second display section.Out of the action plan, the display control ECU 42 displays actionschedule items for which the distance to the site where the action is tobe performed is not greater than the distance L3 on the MET 58, anddisplays action schedule items for which the distance to the site wherethe action is to be performed is not greater than the distance L1, thisbeing a shorter distance than the distance L3, on the HUD 56. Dividingdisplay of the most imminent action schedule items and subsequent actionschedule items between the MET 58 and the HUD 56 enables the occupant tobe easily made aware of the action schedule items. Moreover, configuringthe MET 58 as the first display section and configuring the HUD 56 asthe second display section enables the amount by which the occupant hasto shift their gaze in order to view the first display section or thesecond display section to be minimized.

Moreover, in the present exemplary embodiment, the action schedule itemcreation ECU 60 creates an action plan including plural action scheduleitems. In cases in which there are plural action schedule items to bedisplayed on the HUD 56 or the MET 58, the display control ECU 42performs enlarged display of the action schedule item having theshortest distance to the site where the action is to be performed orhaving the shortest time until the action is to be performed relative tothe other action schedule items. This enables the occupant to be easilymade aware of the closest action schedule item, this being the highestpriority, regardless of whether this action schedule item relates toautonomous driving or manual driving.

Explanation has been given regarding a format in which display of actionschedule items to be performed by manual driving is emphasized relativeto display of action schedule items to be performed by autonomousdriving by inverting the color of the second text string and the colorof the background portion of the second text string. However,emphasizing display of action schedule items to be performed by manualdriving relative to display of action schedule items to be performed byautonomous driving is not limited to inverting the color of the secondtext string and color of the background portion of the second textstring.

For example, display of an action schedule item to be performed bymanual driving may be emphasized relative to display of action scheduleitems to be performed by autonomous driving by changing the color of atleast one out of the second text string or the background portion of thesecond text string (at least one out of brightness, hue, or saturation).FIG. 12 illustrates an example in which the color of the backgroundportion of the second text string has been changed to red. This enablesthe occupant to be easily made aware of a timing at which operation bythe occupant is required.

Changing the color of at least one out of the second text string or thebackground portion of the second text string may also be applied to theHUD 56. However, since the HUD 56 employs a smaller color palette andscreen contrast is difficult to secure for optical reasons, thistechnique is preferably applied to the MET 58. Namely, the displaycontrol ECU 42 displays action schedule items on the display sectionsusing information including a text string. In the case of the MET 58,display of action schedule items to be performed by manual driving areemphasized relative to display of action schedule items to be performedby autonomous driving by changing the color of at least one out of thesecond text string or the background portion of the second text string.In the case of the HUD 56, action schedule items to be performed bymanual driving are emphasized relative to display of action scheduleitems to be performed by autonomous driving by inverting the color ofthe second text string and the color of the background portion of thesecond text string Adopting this format enables display to be emphasizedin a manner corresponding to the respective characteristics of the MET58 for which colors can be changed relatively simply, and of the HUD 56that has a limited color palette.

Alternatively, for example, display of action schedule items to beperformed by manual driving may be emphasized relative to display ofaction schedule items to be performed by autonomous driving bysurrounding the second text string or the row containing the relevantaction schedule item in a frame. Alternatively, for example, display ofaction schedule items to be performed by manual driving may be made toflash so as to be emphasized relative to display of action scheduleitems to be performed by autonomous driving.

Although explanation has been given regarding a format in which actionschedule items for which the distance to the site of the action is notgreater than the distance L3 are displayed on the MET 58, and actionschedule items for which the distance to the site of the action scheduleitem is not greater than the distance L1, this being a shorter distancethan the distance L3, are displayed on the HUD 56, there is nolimitation thereto. For example, action schedule items for which thetime until the action is to be performed is not greater than a firstspecified value may be displayed on the MET 58, while action scheduleitems for which the time until the action is to be performed is notgreater than a second specified value, this being a smaller value thanthe first specified value, may be displayed on the HUD 56.

Although explanation has been given regarding a format in which noparticular display is performed when manual driving by the occupant hasended, there is no limitation thereto. For example, the display controlECU 42 may perform display indicating an end to manual driving on atleast one out of the HUD 56 or the MET 58 in cases in which a site of anaction schedule item performed manually by the occupant has been passedor a duration of an action schedule item performed manually by theoccupant has been exceeded. An example of a display indicating the endof manual driving is illustrated in FIG. 13 . This enables the end ofmanual driving to be clearly conveyed, enabling the occupant to ceasetheir operation with confidence.

Although explanation has been given regarding a format in which actionschedule item display is performed on each of the HUD 56 and the MET 58,there is no limitation thereto. Configuration may be made in whichaction schedule items are displayed on either one of the HUD 56 or theMET 58. Display sections are not limited to the HUD 56 or the MET 58,and, for example, action schedule items may be displayed on a centralmonitor provided at a central portion of the instrument panel of thevehicle.

Moreover, although explanation has been given regarding an example inwhich the autonomous driving ECU 34 performs some driving operationsduring manual driving, and the occupant of the ego vehicle executes theremaining driving operations, there is no limitation thereto. Forexample, configuration may be made in which the occupant of the egovehicle performs all driving operations when in a manual driving mode.

Although explanation has been given regarding a format in which thebackground colors of the overall display regions of the HUD 56 and theMET 58 are set to a color with low brightness (for example black), thereis no limitation thereto, and other colors may be employed therefor.Moreover, there is no limitation to employing a uniform background colorfor the overall display regions of the HUD 56 and the MET 58, and thebackground colors of the display regions of the HUD 56 and the MET 58may be locally varied. In such cases, the color of a portion inside aframe surrounding the second text string is preferably different fromthe color of the second text string and different from the backgroundcolor of at least a region in which the second text string is displayedon the display region of the HUD 56 or the MET 58. This enables thedisplay of action schedule items to be performed by manual driving to beemphasized with a limited color palette.

A format has been described in which the display control program 54,serving as an example of vehicle display control program according tothe present disclosure, is pre-stored (installed) in the storage section48 of the display control ECU 42. However, the vehicle display controlprogram according to the present disclosure may be provided in a formatrecorded onto a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD-ROM, aDVD-ROM, a memory card, an HDD, or an SSD.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle display control device comprising: afirst processor configured to display an action schedule item created bya second processor configured to create an action schedule item demandedof a vehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and manualdriving on a display device provided inside a cabin of the vehicle, andto emphasize display of the action schedule item to be performed bymanual driving compared to display of the action schedule item to beperformed by autonomous driving, wherein the second processor isconfigured to create an action plan including a plurality of the actionschedule items; the display device includes a first display device and asecond display device; and out of the action plan, the first processoris further configured to display on the first display device an actionschedule item for which a distance to a site where the action is to beperformed or a time until the action is to be performed is not greaterthan a first specified value, and to display on the second displaydevice an action schedule item for which a distance to a site where theaction is to be performed or a time until the action is to be performedis not greater than a second specified value that is smaller than thefirst specified value.
 2. The vehicle display control device of claim 1,wherein the first processor is further configured to display the actionschedule item on the display device using information including a textstring, and to emphasize display of the action schedule item to beperformed by manual driving relative to display of the action scheduleitem to be performed by autonomous driving by inverting a color of thetext string and a color of a background portion of the text string. 3.The vehicle display control device of claim 2, wherein the firstprocessor is further configured to emphasize display of the actionschedule item to be performed by manual driving relative to display ofthe action schedule item to be performed by autonomous driving bysetting a color of a background portion of the text string that is aportion inside a frame surrounding the text string differently from acolor of the text string and differently from a color of a background ofat least a region of a display region of the display device in which thetext string is displayed.
 4. The vehicle display control device of claim3, wherein the first processor is further configured to display on thedisplay device a display indicating an end to manual driving in cases inwhich a site of an action schedule item performed manually by anoccupant has been passed or a duration of an action schedule itemperformed manually by the occupant has been exceeded.
 5. The vehicledisplay control device of claim 3, wherein: in cases in which there area plurality of the action schedule items to display on the displaydevice, the first processor is configured to perform enlarged display ofan action schedule item having the shortest distance to a site where theaction is to be performed or the shortest time until the action relativeto other action schedule items.
 6. The vehicle display control device ofclaim 2, wherein the first processor is further configured to display onthe display device a display indicating an end to manual driving incases in which a site of an action schedule item performed manually byan occupant has been passed or a duration of an action schedule itemperformed manually by the occupant has been exceeded.
 7. The vehicledisplay control device of claim 2, wherein: in cases in which there area plurality of the action schedule items to display on the displaydevice, the first processor is configured to perform enlarged display ofan action schedule item having the shortest distance to a site where theaction is to be performed or the shortest time until the action relativeto other action schedule items.
 8. The vehicle display control device ofclaim 1, wherein: the first display device is a meter display and thesecond display device is a head-up display; and the first processor isfurther configured to display the action schedule item on the displaydevice using information including a text string, and in the case of themeter display, emphasize display of the action schedule item to beperformed by manual driving relative to display of the action scheduleitem to be performed by autonomous driving by changing a color of atleast one out of the text string or a background portion of the textstring, and in the case of the head-up display, emphasize display of theaction schedule item to be performed by manual driving relative todisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by autonomousdriving by inverting a color of the text string and a color of abackground portion of the text string.
 9. The vehicle display controldevice of claim 1, wherein the first processor is further configured todisplay on the display device a display indicating an end to manualdriving in cases in which a site of an action schedule item performedmanually by an occupant has been passed or a duration of an actionschedule item performed manually by the occupant has been exceeded. 10.The vehicle display control device of claim 1, wherein the first displaydevice is a meter display, and the second display device is a head-updisplay.
 11. The vehicle display control device of claim 1, wherein: incases in which there are a plurality of the action schedule items todisplay on the display device, the first processor is configured toperform enlarged display of an action schedule item having the shortestdistance to a site where the action is to be performed or the shortesttime until the action relative to other action schedule items.
 12. Avehicle display control method to cause a computer to execute processingcomprising: displaying an action schedule item created by a processorconfigured to create an action schedule item demanded of a vehiclecapable of switching between autonomous driving and manual driving on adisplay device provided inside a cabin of the vehicle; and emphasizingdisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by manual drivingcompared to display of the action schedule item to be performed byautonomous driving, wherein the processor is configured to create anaction plan including a plurality of the action schedule items; thedisplay device includes a first display device and a second displaydevice; and the processing further comprises: out of the action plan,displaying on the first display device an action schedule item for whicha distance to a site where the action is to be performed or a time untilthe action is to be performed is not greater than a first specifiedvalue, and displaying on the second display device an action scheduleitem for which a distance to a site where the action is to be performedor a time until the action is to be performed is not greater than asecond specified value that is smaller than the first specified value.13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium stored with avehicle display control program that causes a computer to executeprocessing comprising: displaying an action schedule item created by aprocessor configured to create an action schedule item demanded of avehicle capable of switching between autonomous driving and manualdriving on a display device provided inside a cabin of the vehicle; andemphasizing display of the action schedule item to be performed bymanual driving compared to display of the action schedule item to beperformed by autonomous driving, wherein the processor is configured tocreate an action plan including a plurality of the action scheduleitems; the display device includes a first display device and a seconddisplay device; and the processing further comprises: out of the actionplan, displaying on the first display device an action schedule item forwhich a distance to a site where the action is to be performed or a timeuntil the action is to be performed is not greater than a firstspecified value, and displaying on the second display device an actionschedule item for which a distance to a site where the action is to beperformed or a time until the action is to be performed is not greaterthan a second specified value that is smaller than the first specifiedvalue.
 14. A vehicle display system comprising: a second processorconfigured to create an action schedule item demanded of a vehiclecapable of switching between autonomous driving and manual driving; adisplay device provided inside a cabin of the vehicle; and a firstprocessor configured to display the action schedule item created by thesecond processor on the display device, and to emphasize display of theaction schedule item to be performed by manual driving compared todisplay of the action schedule item to be performed by autonomousdriving, wherein the second processor is configured to create an actionplan including a plurality of the action schedule items; the displaydevice includes a first display device and a second display device; andout of the action plan, the first processor is further configured todisplay on the first display device an action schedule item for which adistance to a site where the action is to be performed or a time untilthe action is to be performed is not greater than a first specifiedvalue, and to display on the second display device an action scheduleitem for which a distance to a site where the action is to be performedor a time until the action is to be performed is not greater than asecond specified value that is smaller than the first specified value.